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Articles & Advice > Student Life > Blog

Top Tips for Juggling Schoolwork, Exercise, and Activities

Balancing homework, extracurriculars, and a social calendar can leave little time for fitness. Check out these tips from real students on how to make it work!

by CollegeXpress

Last Updated: Mar 16, 2023

Originally Posted: Dec 3, 2014

As we sat here at the CollegeXpress headquarters, perfectly sedentary, munching on leftover Halloween candy (yes, still!), and wondering why we can barely make it up a flight of stairs, we got to thinking about health and fitness. Specifically, we wanted to know what our users think about diet and exercise and how they maintain a healthy lifestyle along with all the other stuff they have on their plates. That's why we teamed up with O2MAX Fitness to survey our readers and get some answers.

Seven thousand students turned out for the survey—thanks again, all 6,977 of you!—and we learned a ton from their responses. We got so much great information, so we’re sharing some of our favorite responses to the question “ How do you balance your fitness and other activities with your schoolwork?”  If you’re struggling with your schedule, first, know you’re not alone, and second, keep reading for some great tips and inspiration from high school and college students just like you. 

On working out and sports

• “Being involved in sports actually helps me a lot because after practice, I know I have less time to procrastinate and have to get started on my school work.”
• “Sports have always been a part of my life. It's as routine as brushing my teeth. Including fitness in my routine is not an option; it's a necessity.”
• “I find that physical activity actually helps me focus. After coming home from practice or a workout, I know I need to focus on school instead of filling my free time with things that will suck me in and distract me.”
• “I use my sports activity to clear my head and to focus on something physical while still stimulating my mind. Right when I get home from my practice I hit the books.”
• “I do my workouts just before I shower each night so I am more tired before I go to bed.”
• “I make at least a 30 minute block of time to workout because I know it's great for my body. Also, after I work out I focus on school a lot better.”
• “I try to eat healthy, and I walk around my campus between classes. I take walks outside whenever I have time.”
• “I bike to school and home incorporating fitness into my everyday life.”
• “I try to find ways to multitask, such as running from building to building on campus rather than slowly walking.”
• “I either do it right when I wake up because I like to get it out of the way, but sometimes when I had a late night studying or if I have early morning classes, I'll do it right when I get back to my room. However, if some days I feel way too tired I know my body needs a break and I'll take a nice stretching or yoga day or a rest day.”
• “If I have minutes at the end of the day then I run for 20 minutes; it just depends on how much time I have. If I have say an hour, I might lift weights.”
• “I watch TV and exercise at the same time.”
• “I try to stretch and do yoga every night before bed and I make sure I have time to play tennis at least once a week by getting my schoolwork done ahead of time to accommodate for fitness time.”
• “Its super hard, but I try to do some easy workouts in my dorm, whether it be push ups or crunches when I first get home from class, and then when I finish my homework days later I try to make it to the gym”

On completing schoolwork

• “It is very hard. I get so much homework that there is almost no time to work out.”
• “School comes first. I'm a student before an athlete and my coach understands that. Mostly I go to school. Go to practice. Then come home and do my homework until late. Then get up and finish it before school. This process is then repeated for every school day after that.”
• “Schoolwork comes first. However, I will do some exercising between assignments so that I stay awake and mentally active.”
• “After I finish practice I go straight home and do my homework. No TV, phone, computer, or any distractions.”
• “I make time for what's important and recognize when something must take precedence. My schoolwork comes first, as it should, but I know that I need to take breaks and exercise is a good stress relief.”
•  “Schoolwork takes priority. I'm here primarily to learn and, on top of that, I have a scholarship that I need to maintain. But fitness is important, nonetheless. If I can't make it to the gym or don't want to, I'll take a walk or work out in my dorm room.”
• “School always comes first, but I always go to practice, never miss it. I put equal effort, time, and dedication into both.”
• “I have a study hall at school three times a week so that helps. Also, I do homework on the bus rides on the way to my games. I try to concentrate on schoolwork, though.”

On using your time wisely

• “First, I do anything I have to do for school; after I'm done with that, I do my fitness routine until the sun sets.”
• “I make sure to use my weekends wisely and plan my days out so I'm able to fit practices and a certain amount of homework in.”
• “I have really good time management skills. I work on homework any chance I get.”
• “I try to limit myself in certain things, so I have an everyday schedule that helps me have a balanced routine everyday.”
• “I do as much work during class as I can and when I'm not practicing something during a rehearsal I do homework. Then I usually stay up later to finish it.”
• “Make a schedule and stick to it. It's hard at first, but after awhile it becomes routine. I use my weekend for relaxation or to study for a challenging test.”
• “Sometimes I slack on the sleep, but I make both my sport and my schoolwork a priority, so I try very hard not to miss practice, and I never miss an assignment. I'll do almost whatever it takes to get both done, but schoolwork will always be the higher priority.”
• “I balance my activities by practicing before school and completing my school work in the afternoon after school. I do not get more than 6 hours of sleep per night, however.”
• “Plan, plan, and plan.”
• “Try and get as much done in school, so that I don't have much for homework out side of school.”
• “I exercise while I study. If I am reading for school, I will read a passage, then think about it while exercising and then return to reading or studying.”
• “I have a study hall and do as much as possible during class, as well as carefully manage my time.”
• “I schedule what I'll be doing at what time the night before. I find that once I go to the gym to workout my mind is a lot more clear and there's a sense of accomplishment that motivates me to go on with my other activities for the day.”
• “I do pretty well with time management, but the key is getting schoolwork done early whenever possible because you don't know what the next days entail.”
• “I stay up late to finish homework or do almost all projects on the weekends because I don't have time for it all during the week. I do manage my time very well though.”
• “Don't waste any time, hardly at all, ever. Stay focused on my goals and be a little selfish every once in a while. Remind myself that I wanted to be busy and I'm living happily and just how lucky I am to be living.”

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How to Be Organized in School

Last Updated: April 6, 2024 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Ashley Pritchard, MA and by wikiHow staff writer, Amy Bobinger . Ashley Pritchard is an Academic and School Counselor at Delaware Valley Regional High School in Frenchtown, New Jersey. Ashley has over 3 years of high school, college, and career counseling experience. She has an MA in School Counseling with a specialization in Mental Health from Caldwell University and is certified as an Independent Education Consultant through the University of California, Irvine. There are 16 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 675,932 times.

It can be really frustrating to feel like you're always forgetting your homework or losing your pencils, but you might not realize how much it's affecting your school performance. Fortunately, those problems can usually be fixed by a little organization. When you keep your work area, schedule, and even class notes organized, you'll almost certainly find that it's easier to keep up with your schoolwork, and you might even see an improvement in your grades!

Assignments

• Try putting color-coded pocket folders inside the binder to keep track of papers that don't have holes punched in them. For instance, you might use a blue divider, folder, and notebook for math.
• Any time you get a piece of paper for class, put it in your binder right away. That will help keep you from having a lot of loose, crinkled paper to sort through at the end of each day.
• Figure out the organization method that works for you—you might want to have a section in your binder for graded papers and one for assignments that are ready to turn in, for instance. [2] X Research source

• For instance, you might have a parent folder labeled "Biology," then within that folder, you might include sub-folders like, "Class Notes" "Homework," "Research Paper," and "Handouts."
• Consider using a service like Google Drive or iCloud to store your files online (or on the cloud). That way, you won't lose your files if your computer crashes.

• If your notebooks and folders are color-coded, consider using the same color pens to write down your assignments. For instance, you might write all of your math assignments in blue and all of your English assignments in red.
• Include other activities in your planner as well. That way, it will be easy for you to see which days you'll be busiest, so you'll know how to plan your studying for each week. [4] X Research source

Alicia Oglesby

Set up systems for organizing schoolwork. Use colored pens to code school subjects in planners and matching folders. Set phone alerts for tests, projects, and assignments, so you stay on top of work. Handwrite to-do lists by due date and class to help retain the information.

• Your school might provide an online assignment manager that you can use, as well.
• When you're trying to decide between a paper or digital planner, think about which one you're likely to check the most often. For instance, if you already have a paper planner but you forget to look at it most days, you might do better with an app you can put on your phone.

• For instance, if you have a big paper due for Lit class, you might set a reminder for 1 week before the due date so you won't forget to work on your final draft, as well as a reminder for the morning it's due so you don't forget to bring it to class.
• Your online planner may be able to notify you about your assignments, so check out the settings!

• If your teacher mentions a new assignment, write the due date in your planner immediately.
• Writing the date on your paper will help you keep your notes organized, and it can be helpful if you're trying to recall something specific while you're studying.

• Try using a highlighter to call attention to anything you think is especially important.
• Rewriting things in your own words may help you learn, understand, and memorize the material better!

• When you're studying for a test, first read the bottom horizontal box, and then go up to the other 2 boxes if you need more information.
• The Cornell note-taking method might be the right note-taking method for you if you're studying something like History that has a lot of key points and specific details.

• If you feel yourself often getting bored taking notes, try Mind Mapping since it's more creative!
• Mind Mapping can be effective for subjects like Literature, where 1 main subject (i.e. a book) has several important features (i.e. characters, themes, plot points, etc).

Studying and Time Management

• As you're planning your schedule, think about when you tend to be most productive—are you full of energy after school, or do you prefer to have a little downtime when you get home, then do your homework after dinner?
• If you're learning remotely, think about the times of day you tend to work best and plan your difficult subjects for that time period. Save your easiest subjects for times when you might tend to drag a little more.

• It's a good idea to turn off notifications on your phone and tablet during your study time. That way, you won't be distracted by text messages or social media mentions.
• Some people study best in complete silence, but other people do better with a little background music or white noise. Experiment to find what works for you.
• If you start getting distracted while you're studying, get up and take a 10-15 minute break, then come back to your work.

• For instance, if you have to write a 3-page paper in a week, you might schedule one day for doing research, one for filling out a detailed outline, one for writing a first draft, and two days for revisions. That will still leave you a couple of days of free time in case you fall behind or have other things you need to work on.
• Working a little bit each day on your project will help the workload feel smaller. It will also give you more time to relax at the end of the day.

• This is a good time to rewrite your notes if they're a little messy.

• You can even lay out your outfit for the next day! That way, all you'll have to worry about in the morning is getting up, brushing your teeth, and eating breakfast.
• If there's anything important you need to remember for the next day, try putting a sticky note somewhere you'll be sure to see it, like on your bathroom mirror, lunchbox, or door.

Supplies and Study Space

• There is no “right” or “wrong” way to organize your supplies—the important thing is that you consistently put your things in the same place so you'll always know where they are.
• Try keeping your pens, pencils, and colored pencils in a pencil case, for instance, and keep your extra papers and notebooks in a desk drawer at home.
• Even if you want to rush out of class when the bell rings, it will be a lot easier to find your stuff later if you take a few seconds to put everything away neatly.

• Being unprepared for class can not only distract you, but your classmates as well, especially if you have to ask them for supplies. It can also detract from your participation grade.

• Don't throw away old assignments and tests, even after they're graded—they might be helpful when you're trying to study for final exams.
• If you study in an area that's also used for other things, like your family's dining table, try keeping your papers and books stacked in a bin when you're not using them.

Supercharge Your Studying with this Expert Series

Expert Q&A

• Don't expect to become organized overnight! It takes time, so be patient with yourself and have confidence that it'll work out soon. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
• You should clean out your backpack at least once a week or after school every day to get rid of trash or rubbish that you don't need in there. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

Things You'll Need

• Pencil case
• Highlighters
• Sticky notes
• Organization tools (storage bins, pencil holders, etc.)

You Might Also Like

• ↑ https://kidshealth.org/en/teens/focused.html
• ↑ https://edu.gcfglobal.org/en/windowsbasics/working-with-files/1/
• ↑ Ashley Pritchard, MA. Academic & School Counselor. Expert Interview. 4 November 2019.
• ↑ https://www.hopkinsallchildrens.org/Patients-Families/Health-Library/HealthDocNew/Organizing-Schoolwork-Assignments
• ↑ https://engage.youth.gov/resources/five-tips-tackling-changes-your-schoolwork-routine
• ↑ https://learningcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/effective-note-taking-in-class/
• ↑ https://kidshealth.org/en/teens/take-notes.html
• ↑ http://coe.jmu.edu/learningtoolbox/cornellnotes.html
• ↑ https://help.open.ac.uk/mind-maps
• ↑ https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/homework.html
• ↑ https://kidshealth.org/en/teens/homework.html
• ↑ https://www.greatschools.org/gk/articles/get-organized-for-school/
• ↑ https://www.greatschools.org/gk/articles/high-school-back-to-school-supply-list/
• ↑ https://learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org/skills/reading/a2-reading/7-tips-tidy-desk

About This Article

To be organized in school, start by setting up a different color binder for each class, like red for English and blue for math, and labeling dividers to keep notes, assignments, and tests in separate sections. Additionally, use a planner to write down things like homework assignments and club meeting dates, and check it every day to stay on track. You should also try to keep your backpack and locker clean and organized. For example, use caddies in your locker to keep things neat, or keep your pencil case in an outside backpack pocket for easy access. For more tips, like how to use the Cornell method to organize your class notes, read on! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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The New York Times

Motherlode | homework’s emotional toll on students and families, homework’s emotional toll on students and families.

When your children arrive home from school this evening, what will be your first point of conflict? How’s this for an educated guess? Homework.

Do they have any? How much? When are they going to do it? Can they get it done before practice/rehearsal/dinner? After? When is it due? When did they start it? Even parents who are wholly hands off about the homework itself still need information about how much, when and how long if there are any family plans in the offing — because, especially for high school students in high-performing schools, homework has become the single dominating force in their nonschool lives.

Researchers asked 4,317 students from 10 high-performing high schools in upper-middle-class California communities to describe the impact of homework on their lives, and the results offer a bleak picture that many of us can see reflected around our dining room tables. The students reported averaging 3.1 hours of homework nightly, and they added comments like: “There’s never a break. Never.”

It “takes me away from everything I used to do,” says one.

Lack of sleep and lack of time were a theme, said the researcher Denise Clark Pope, a senior lecturer at the Stanford Graduate School of Education and a co-author of the study, which will be published in The Journal of Experimental Education. While the students didn’t report grieving for the children they were just a few months or years ago, they should have. There is something about that phrase — “everything I used to do” — that makes a parent take notice.

It’s not just the hours, Ms. Pope said. Students describe stress and sleep deprivation. “They feel out of control,” she said. “They often have no idea when a teacher will assign what. They can’t plan around Grandma’s birthday dinner, and it’s really not their fault.”

My students aren’t even in high school yet (my oldest is a seventh grader), and I’m not looking forward to the change. I don’t want them to give up “everything they used to do.” Already, homework struggles dominate many of our evenings. For some children at some ages (it has varied with mine), just getting them to sit down takes more time than the worksheets in their backpacks. For others, homework becomes an excellent place to enact a nightly dramatic rendition of “I Can’t Do It” (whether they can or not). The stress homework places on families starts early.

There are parenting strategies available to deal with those struggles, certainly — but when, and why, did our evenings at home become so dedicated to that particular interaction? I’m perpetually dismayed by how much of our evenings is consumed by schoolwork, and at the end of a particularly fraught night — for example, one when my two second graders each have a report on a South American animal due, and are fighting not just over the homework, but also over their share of my coveted attention and my unique ability to download and print images — I find myself wondering how our family life would be different without the flash point that homework so often becomes.

For the older students who participated in the research, homework was a family flash point of a different kind. Ms. Pope and her colleagues intentionally designed their research and wrote their paper to focus on the voices of the students and on their perspective about homework, arguing that it is the students’ experience that “influences how they do their homework, and consequently, how homework affects them.”

Much of the pressure they described feeling came from their parents, Ms. Pope said, and a sense that if they didn’t do the homework, they wouldn’t get the grades and they wouldn’t succeed. For those students (no matter what their parents might say about the same interactions), homework is affecting their relationship with their parents and how they feel about their family and their place in it.

To take my relationship with my children out from under homework’s shadow, I have pulled back (way back) on any involvement, and we have made an active choice as parents to let the work and any consequences for not doing it fall to their schools, not to us. That doesn’t work for all families. It also doesn’t help when the sheer number of hours a child is expected to spend at his books is destructive to family relationships because there is little or no time left to spend together, particularly once a sport or other activity enters the mix.

Ms. Pope suggests asking teachers and schools to provide homework packets that a student can spread out over a week, rather than springing large assignments due tomorrow that can derail family plans. Schools and teachers can also help by building in time for students to get started on homework and ask any questions they might have.

Looking at the larger picture, she said, things are changing. “These students are already averaging an hour more than what’s thought to be useful,” she said, and teachers, schools and parents are beginning to think harder about what kinds of homework, and how much of it, enhance learning and motivation without becoming all-consuming.

It might be easier than you think to start the conversation at your student’s school. “Load doesn’t equal rigor,” Ms. Pope said. “There are other developmental things students need to be doing after school, and other things they need to be learning.”

And if you are at the point where some of the pressure over homework might just be coming from you? “Don’t fall into the trap of parent peer pressure,” said Ms. Pope, a mother of three. “Nothing is permanent, and it’s up to you to remind your children that. We live in a country where you can drop out of high school and later community college and still ultimately get a Ph.D. from Stanford. At a certain point, it’s O.K. to get some sleep instead of studying for that test.”

And it’s really O.K. to go out to dinner for Grandma’s birthday. When do they assign the homework that teaches students that while work matters, family matters more?

Follow KJ Dell’Antonia on Twitter at @KJDellAntonia or find her on Facebook and Google+ .

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How to Focus on School Work & Stay Concentrated: 18 Tips to Follow

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Every new academic year has unique challenges that make students ask questions like, "Why can't I focus on school work?" It is more complicated than ever to maintain optimum concentration. Some people struggle because they are juggling family time, social activities, and media platforms. Nevertheless, you can focus on homework and finish your tasks efficiently by adopting interest-focusing strategies. These techniques will be helpful in overcoming diversions and concentrating on your schoolwork. You can achieve this by making simple schedule adjustments. In this blog post, we will discuss 18 tips on how to stay focused on homework in a clear and detailed manner. In case you have any questions or need expert assistance, contact StudyCrumb. Our academic writing team will be glad to solve any homework task you are dealing with. Say ‘ help with my assignment ’ and get top-notch assistance.

Why Can't I Focus on My Homework?

The question "why can't I focus on homework?" is popular among students, as numerous things can be distracting when doing assignments. Several hindrances like social networking sites, overthinking and watching digital content continuously demand concentration. As a result, you have little or no control over your thoughts. You must ensure your brain is dedicated to completing the task at hand. Focusing on an assignment may be challenging for many reasons. From my perspective, one of the reasons why I can't focus on school work is experiencing stress or exhaustion. Of course, being bored with the subject itself could also be the cause of why you are not concentrating. Many people find that figuring out the obstacle is the best way of understanding how to get focused on school work. Similarly, eating well and leading a healthy lifestyle is what helps you focus on homework.

Can't Focus on Homework? Find Out All Distracting Facts

Why can't I concentrate on my homework? Is paying attention to my assignments so crucial? Welcome to the new era where distractions are everywhere, and you can't concentrate on homework. How can you possibly finish your schoolwork and focus on it without being interrupted? Something minor, like social media browsing, may not seem harmful initially, but it can hinder studying. Students must learn how to stay focused while doing homework so that they can perform well. Many factors may contribute to these distractions and make you feel like you have limited power over your thoughts. These elements of distraction include the following:

• Fear of failure.
• Electronic devices.

Lack of interest is a common reason why students experience difficulties with concentration. If you aren’t interested in your subject and are looking for an expert to pay for homework , StudyCrumb is the best place to seek for academic help. Let us know the details and we will match you with the best writer in your field.

Tips for Focusing on Homework

You may struggle with focus occasionally as a freshman or a graduate student. One of the obstacles is the question of how to concentrate on homework. It can be challenging when you are thinking about something else. For example, your mind is constantly shifting focus onto your phone, your stomach is grumbling, or you want to lie down and nap. Start by learning how to focus on schoolwork in general by adopting technology as a core part of making you creative. However, technology is responsible for a never-ending stream of diversions that can weaken the will toward education. Check a few tips below on how to focus better on homework while avoiding interference.

1. Provide Quiet and Comfortable Environment

Students should learn how to focus on school at home as a core part of achieving academic success. Using a computer to do your homework staying in a noisy living room environment may affect concentration. To focus on school work, move to a quiet area where you can listen to helpful videos and read books. Make the space cozy, ensure it is also tidy, and maybe use inspirational banners in the room. You will probably have an easier understanding if you minimize distractions when studying. A quiet and conducive environment can optimize the quality of time spent on schoolwork and spare enough hours for free time. This is one of the crucial ways how to stop getting distracted from homework.

2. Prepare Snacks and Water Beforehand

This is another critical method and a sure way how to focus when doing homework. Here, you can learn how to focus on school by consuming water and healthy snacks, including low-fat yogurt, whole-grain bread, and dried fruits. It is not a good idea to eat a substantial meal prior to starting to work on the homework since it takes a lot of energy and time to digest the food. Thus, large meals can make you unproductive. Instead, preparing snacks and water beforehand is one of the easy-to-implement tips to help focus on homework. Water prevents dehydration and helps in digestion. Healthy snacks are a crucial element of a well-balanced diet, particularly when studying for long periods. Easy meals for college students play a critical role in curbing overeating. They also boost energy levels and metabolism and reduce hunger pangs, allowing you to concentrate better on your schoolwork.

3. Provide Silence to Concentrate on Homework

People often need silence when contemplating how to not get distracted while doing homework. Most students wonder why it is so hard to focus on school work in a loud environment. This is because it shifts your mind to what is happening around you rather than concentrating on your homework. Maintaining silence when focusing on school work enables you to absorb information better, remember it, and formulate new questions. You can assess the significance of alternative viewpoints and internalize different emotions and facts. Furthermore, silence allows you to practice deliberate and purposeful communication. It is also necessary to ensure effective use of the time allocated for schoolwork.

4. Organize Your Study Place

Taking an hour or more to arrange your space is helpful when figuring out how to focus on doing homework. If you study in your room, ensure the windows are open for the flow of fresh air. However, remain mindful of outside noise that may become even more distracting. One of the things to help you focus on homework is adequate illumination to help with reading and writing and clearing your mind. Both these preparations can be achieved using music and easy hygiene procedures. If you enjoy classical music, turn it on for the smooth sounds that will help you relax. Spend a few minutes removing dirty things on the desk, table, and study space, including your sitting position. The whole idea of organizing your study space is made to avoid time wastage. Furthermore, great organization boosts concentration and output and helps you avoid distraction.

5. Block Apps and Websites That Can Distract From Doing Homework

Another incredible tip on how to concentrate on school work is by blocking apps and websites that cause distraction. Focusing is undoubtedly tricky if you are completing homework on a laptop. Some apps are beneficial while others are not, especially when you think of what helps you focus on homework and ensure effective use of allocated time. For instance, Screen Time is an app that assists you in avoiding frequent distractions. Avoid apps like Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube to focus on homework and close any notifications like text messages not to get distracted. By blocking these apps, you will concentrate more on your studies and enhance your workflow. You can run a few applications that support your efficiency in handling schoolwork.

6. Avoid Multitasking to Be Focused on School Work

If you are unsure about how to focus on homework at home, you are in the right place. You should identify different methods so you can concentrate thoughts on schoolwork and optimize the learning process. Focusing on one assignment at a time is another way how to stay focused on school work. Multitasking will reduce your productivity. Avoid watching a video lesson on science while completing your math assignment because you might be losing more than you gain. Before beginning a new task, finish the previous one and concentrate on homework. This enables you to take part in the activity more deeply and stay attentive. In addition, you will retain more knowledge and have less trouble applying the information in the real world if you can focus more on your schoolwork.

7. Choose the Best Time for Homework

As the saying goes, to everything, there is a time and place , and with homework, you need to set the appropriate time and place to work it out. You need to choose designated periods to make yourself focus on homework. Attentiveness to schoolwork may be difficult if the event is not scheduled correctly. Therefore, choosing the most appropriate time to focus on your homework without many distractions is key. The correct perspective in handling assignment deadlines would entail the selection of a timeframe that is best for you. In other words, the time allocation should be uneventful yet scheduled at an appropriate time for maximum efficiency. This means you will consider periods when your mind is fresh and there are minimal distractions to remain productive while focusing on schoolwork.

8. Put Aside All Gadgets

When researching how to do homework without getting distracted, gadgets are considered to be some of the most distracting elements that you can have. Having gadgets around, such as phones, leaves you vulnerable to shifting attention. This entails calls and messages from friends in social media or online interactions. Although gadgets are essential in helping you study, switch them off in order to not get distracted when doing homework. Accordingly, managing screen time must be a central topic when developing ways how to focus on your homework. You will find that without distractions, you can easily set attention to the tasks that matter. Putting off your gadgets often results in higher efficiency and productivity, especially when handling academic tasks.

9. Prioritize Your Homework

As with many other things, priorities are central when getting work done. Schoolwork at home can easily fall into events that are of lower importance. However, eliminating this perspective may be critical when considering how to focus while doing homework. Prioritization is the most effective when planning and scheduling events. Tasks like doing homework should, in this case, be set as the most important and high up on the schedule compared to other events. More time should also be allocated to more urgent events. This allows you to organize your thoughts and ideas while doing your homework without feeling rushed.

10. Plan Your Schedule to Be Concentrated

Students often wonder how to focus more on school work, especially when dealing with time-critical events or when they have a lot on their plate. I have, in several instances, successfully used scheduling when strategizing how to make myself focus on homework. The trick lies in developing a schedule that works for you. The plan, in this case, should operate around all your daily events and take advantage of the free periods. You can therefore complete the tasks that are typically overlooked. Keeping time will be easier with the correct approach to scheduling. You will also make more time for the things that previously fell between the cracks and remain undone.

11. Divide Your Task Into Parts

Undertaking large volumes of work that cannot be well-tracked may seem overwhelming. Being compelled can then make it hard to stay focused. In my experience, the practice of dividing work into parts has been able to help me focus on homework. Breaking down large volumes of tasks enables you to easily keep track of the progress you make and avoid the feeling of being overwhelmed. You can use this as a tip when figuring out what to do when you can't focus on homework. Also, scheduling periodic breaks after completing a stressful section will be helpful.

12. Make To-Do Lists to Focus on Homework

Lists are a common way of tracking the important events that should be done throughout the day. They can also be helpful when thinking of how to stay focused on homework in college or even in your personal engagements. You may wonder how to stop getting distracted while doing homework using lists, and here is how. Listing all the day's tasks in order of how you would like to undertake them keeps you focused on your goals. The order will help you tackle things individually and shape your focus on the next item you need to work on. Setting goals for each step can also lead to exceptional results in completing homework and minimizing distractions.

13. Use Tools and Apps for Studying

As a student, you must leverage technologies and all available ways to focus on homework. The advantage of studying in the modern schooling environment is that you have a wide array of tools and resources. For instance, mobile apps and games can help you meet the objectivity tasks you may require. They will also help you to get useful time management skills . Many free apps and tools help you to focus on school work at home. For example, scheduling apps offer time management and planning resources that help you get that extra edge in keeping focused. These tools provide alerts to inform you of your tasks and even help manage your progress. In addition to scheduling applications, using PDF annotating apps and tools can be very helpful for studying. Apps like PDF Reader Pro allow you to open, edit, annotate and share PDFs with ease. You can highlight important textbook passages, add notes and bookmark pages to better focus on your homework. 

14. Set a Timer While Doing Homework

Using timers is a great option when you are not able to concentrate on homework. Students who can't focus on school work may benefit from using them to manage their engagement in different daily activities. Timers are mainly instrumental in keeping your attention focused on a specific goal. Productivity timers, for instance, may help keep your focus by holding you accountable for every minute that passes. You know you need to finish a set number of tasks based on the time spent on these tasks. This can be beneficial if you are prone to procrastination or are too busy with other things. Older students wondering how to stay focused on homework in college or tertiary institutions may also use timers to manage their efficiencies. Timing yourself can also help keep pressure on the mind and focus your thoughts. Therefore, make timed tasks a habit.

15. Come Up With Motivation

Motivation greatly helps when you wonder what to do when you can't focus on homework. Sometimes, simple inspiration and goal realignment may be all you need to restore your attention. Motivation comes in many forms and shapes. For instance, using reward systems or adjusting your school goals with personal interests may go a long way. Other options include joining group work discussions that match these objectives and engaging in an exercise that may help keep you motivated. So next time you think of how to focus on schoolwork at home, consider what benefits you may get from developing motivation for your goals.

16. Make Breaks for Better Concentration on Homework

Concentration is part of what can help me focus on homework, and there is a chance you may be severely affected by fatigue. Exhaustion is to be expected, especially when handling challenging course materials. I mostly find that I can't focus on my homework when I am tired. It becomes complicated to focus on homework without getting distracted when exhausted, and the solution I have found so far is taking a break. This helps rejuvenate the mind and generate new energy. Scheduling periodic intervals minimizes stress and allows you to refocus your thoughts. Nevertheless, be mindful and do not take a break that extends for too long.

17. Change Study Spot

You may be curious how a change in the environment affects your ability to concentrate or how to make yourself focus on homework with so many distractions at home. Fortunately, there are standard solutions to these questions as well. If you are wondering how to focus on school work at home, you should move to a different study spot. In a spacious house, you can find a quiet, designated space to set up and do your homework. Having a fixed location with the right environment for concentration may increase your creativity significantly. In smaller houses, getting a place that is secluded from direct distractions may also help minimize the impact these distractions have on your attentiveness.

18. Listen to Music

Changing approach to studying may also be needed to stay focused on homework. Listening to your favorite music can be a great option. This is particularly true if you have considered most of the options shared above and are still wondering how to do your homework without getting distracted. Music to study to is a great way to keep you focused, especially when using headphones to prevent external noise. It is exceptionally effective in stress management. There is a higher chance you may get distracted when doing challenging homework assignments. Music is one of the things that can be used to clear the mind when you are curious about what to do if you can't focus on homework. Symphonies and upbeat music, for instance, help manage stress by boosting the thinking process. It is, however, important to avoid listening to songs playing in the background with lyrics that may be distracting. Instrumentals are, in most cases, the more practical option.

Final Thoughts on How to Focus on Schoolwork

Beyond education, learning to concentrate on your schoolwork might also help you in other pursuits in your life. Among the best abilities for fostering your development is concentration. Various tips are practical when you spend all day and night working on school or college papers and cannot concentrate on your assignment. Stick to these 18 strategies if you want to try and work out how to focus on homework without getting distracted. We have all been through the "how do I focus on my homework" moment occasionally. However, listening to music, organizing your study place, and setting a timer will help you stay focused when doing homework. Make it a routine to read and utilize these tips; you will not regret a single day in your life.

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FAQ About Focusing on Homework at Home

1. why can't i focus on homework for more than 10 minutes.

Gaining strict concentration may be one of the most challenging issues affecting students. Many learners find that they can't focus on homework even when they want. Distractions, exhaustion, and a general lack of interest in the subject are to blame for their lack of focus. In some cases, stress and other emotional distractions may affect a person's ability to focus.

2. How can I train my brain to concentrate on homework?

Fortunately, this problem can be solved by simple discipline routines and habits that enable students to concentrate on homework. Working past the undisciplined mind can be achieved by simply following a strict routine. Scheduling tasks and timelines are some of the ways that can be used to keep your mind set on targeted goals. Turning off all distractions, such as the television and background music, may also help improve concentration levels.

3. How to get my child to focus on homework?

Parents or guardians are often a great source in helping their children stay focused when doing homework. Creating an enabling environment and assisting in doing homework are ways that parents can improve their child's concentration and remain involved in their learning process. Other options, such as helping develop workable schedules for children, are also plausible ways that parents can use.

If you consider the executive function skills involved in completing assignments under typical circumstances, the student must pay attention in class when tasks or directions are provided. In many instances, teachers post assignments in a school portal as well, or expect students to look there without mentioning them during class. In either situation, the student has to take the steps to follow through in opening up the portal itself, sifting through what is likely a lot of visual information to process, and finding the right place where the assignments are listed.

In some portals, kids have to view tasks only by class. Clicking through six classes’ worth of assignments can be time-consuming and lead to students not following through in viewing everything. Or they may accidentally skip over assignments. Once the students identify what assignments they have to complete, their next challenge often becomes either writing down the assignment somewhere, continuing to go back to the portal to view it, or effectively holding the task in their memory until it is completed (which is often not the best strategy to use anyway).

Assuming your child or teen knows what assignments they need to complete, getting started is sometimes one of the hardest tasks involved in doing homework. Procrastination, not setting aside homework time, avoidance of tasks they perceive as difficult or as tough, or not being sure how to get started, complicate the student’s ability to get moving on completing assignments. Other key issues along the way include getting distracted and stopping, forgetting to go back and finish assignments later, and even completing the assignments but forgetting to submit them online or in-person.

Needless to say, under typical circumstances, these issues can significantly impede a student’s ability to complete assignments, especially when ADHD symptoms interfere. With the COVID-19 pandemic, changing schedules, inconsistencies in expectations, more flexibility with due dates anxiety about pandemic-related issues, social isolation, and many other aspects of the situation exacerbated pre-existing issues with school. Additionally, the pandemic led to increased reliance on executive function skills. At times these skills were taxed to the limit, especially as students had to keep track of classwork and homework assignments that were not completed and submitted in-person.

Nevertheless, by identifying and implementing specific strategies, students can take better control over tracking and completing their assignments, during and beyond the current pandemic.

Whatever the situation might be as schools reopen this fall, here are some practical strategies and tools that you can customize to meet the needs of your own child or teen. As the next school year approaches, we hope that these will help your student get off to a good start by more effectively keeping track of and completing their assignments.

1 Help your student to develop a solid system for tracking assignments such as a planner or calendar. A student cannot complete assignments if they do not know which ones they are expected to complete. For some students, an online portal may serve as this resource if it is accurate 100% of the time. For some students, though, it can be helpful to keep a complete list of all tasks separately from an automated portal, because it gives them the ability to view all tasks in a format they are comfortable with.

A few ideas for a comprehensive list of assignments include:

• Added to an electronic calendar such as Google or Apple Calendar. Many homework portals allow students to sync assignments to an electronic calendar so they do not have to add assignments themselves unless tasks are not already added by teachers.
• Typed in a Google Doc.
• Recorded in an electronic homework planner such as MyHomework or My Study Life.
• Added to an electronic task list such as Google Tasks or Todoist.
• Written out by hand in a paper planner or in a notebook designated for this purpose.

2 Help your student create a realistic daily and weekly plan. Once students have a clear understanding of their assignments, it is often helpful if they map out a plan and put it in a visual format instead of just in their head. A parent may need to assist them with this. This includes breaking down larger assignments into parts or chunks.

Other ideas related to making a plan include:

• List assignments due today or tomorrow first.
• Add other assignments or parts of assignments that would make sense to work on or complete.
• Estimate completion time for assignments.

3 Help your child or teen master some basic principles of planning. This can make the difference between the student’s using a system or feeling like no system is actually going to work. Here are a few of the more common and important principles of planning:

• Estimate completion times. This is important because otherwise if one makes a plan and it is not realistic, it will be impossible to follow it in the time available for completing assignments. This pattern also often fuels the notion that plans don’t work.
• Having flexibility is important. While trying to stick to a plan, also recognizing that sometimes things take longer than planned, unexpected assignments come up, or events occur that impede homework time, and managing these items so as not to completely derail a plan is often vital to its success.
• Block out specific time for homework in general. If a student simply tries to fill some of the time available between school and afterschool activities, they may end up with enough time allotted for homework if they can motivate themselves to get started soon enough in the day. Alternatively, without allotting specific time to do homework, planning is more difficult, and a student is less likely to get assigned work completed on time.

4 Setting up an ideal workspace is important for completing schoolwork and homework assignments . If the student can have a space solely dedicated to schoolwork, that often helps maintain the school mindset. Other ideas related to this include:

• Use noise-cancelling headphones or a white noise machine if there are unavoidable distracting sounds.
• Minimize electronic distractions. Keep phone away from the student’s work area and use electronic programs to block access to websites and games that can be tempting to access during school or study time (such as Freedom, Cold Turkey, Forrest).
• Harness fidgeting by using items such as a wobble cushion/chair, yoga ball chair, desk bike or elliptical, kick bands, hand fidgets, or other items that can be used mindlessly without taking visual focus away from the tasks at hand.

5 Use available notification systems and tools to get the reminders your student needs for successfully completing and turning in assignments. Some ideas include:

• Google Calendar
• Alexa, Google Home, or another personal assistant
• Time Timer for visualizing time remaining

Carey A. Heller, PsyD , is a licensed psychologist based in Maryland. He specializes in the evaluation and treatment of ADHD and executive function issues. Learn more at hellerpsychologygroup.com . The coordinator for the Montgomery County chapter of CHADD, Dr. Heller also serves as co-chair of the editorial advisory board for Attention magazine.

Other articles in this edition.

I-PCIT: When Help Is Needed Now

Small Talk Is Painful

ADHD and Healthy Lifestyle Behavior

Coping with and Recovering from the Pandemic: Key School Issues for Kids with ADHD

Calling All Students, We Need You!

The Gender Myths (Or “Only Boys Have ADHD”)

The Myth of ADHD Overdiagnosis

The Parent As If They Are Younger Myth

“If This Is Supposed to Be Easy, Why Is It So Hard?”

Angels & Demons

What a Difference a Year Makes: The 2021 Conference on ADHD

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I do my homework and schoolwork in separate books. I don't get muddled up.

A. I do my homework and schoolwork in separate books so that I don't get muddled up.

B. I do not get muddled up due to the separation between homework and schoolwork.

C. I would get muddled up if I did not separate homework from schoolwork.

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Đáp án A

Phương pháp giải:

Kiến thức: Mệnh đề chỉ mục đích

Giải chi tiết:

S + V, so that + S + V: ai đó làm gì để mà

Tạm dịch: Tôi làm bài tập về nhà và bài tập ở trường trong những quyển riêng. Tôi không bị rối.

A. Tôi làm bài tập về nhà và bài tập ở trường trong những quyển riêng biệt để tôi không bị rối.

B. Tôi không bị rối vì sự tách biệt giữa bài tập về nhà và bài tập ở trường. => sai nghĩa

C. Tôi sẽ rối nếu tôi không tách bài tập về nhà với bài tập ở trường. => sai câu điều kiện (câu điều kiện không có thật ở hiện tại – thực tế là nó có thể xảy ra ở hiện tại)

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Volunteer organisations are generally small-staffed, so they need to _______ lots of volunteers for a huge event., we were all in awe of the fact that the new manager was our old friend duncan., today, greenpeace has returned to alaska _________ to stop shell drilling for arctic oil., mark the letter a, b, c, or d on your answer sheet to indicate the underlined part that needs correction in each of the following questions from 8 to 10.   the guggenheim museum in new york city is one of the major center for the collection and display of works of abstract art in the united states., it seems that they had had a ________ row, as she had locked him out of the apartment all night long..

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How to organize a school binder: Tips and examples

Katie August 29, 2022 ADD/ADHD , executive function , grades , homework , organization

By Katie Azevedo, M.Ed.

There are multiple ways to organize school materials using binders, notebooks, folders, and accordion files. This guide will teach you how to organize a school binder. It also includes tips for students with ADHD. The binder set-up I teach below can work for middle school, high school and college students.

Tips for choosing a school binder

Staples, Amazon, and Target are full of school binder options: zipper, 3-ring, ones with pockets, ones with velcro. The rule is to choose a binder with the least friction. In other words, choose one that is easy to open, easy to close, and easy to add papers to. 

More tips for choosing an academic binder: 

• Choose a 3-ring binder only if you plan to use folders inside (more on that in the subsection titled how to set up your school binder below)
• Avoid 3-ring binders without using folders; otherwise, you’ll have to hole-punch all your papers. 
• Choose a binder with a solid front and back cover. Avoid flimsy covers.
• Velcro-close binders are a good choice if you often carelessly throw things in your backpack. Velcro can keep the covers from getting jammed.
• Avoid zipper binders if you feel rushed at the end of class. Zippers are friction.

What size school binder to get

Three-ring binders come in many sizes, from .5 inch to 6 inches. (That’s huge; don’t get that one.) Purchase the smallest size possible that fits all your subjects without jamming your papers on the rings.

First, think about how many courses you will use your binder for. For one class, a 1-inch binder is usually enough. If you will use your binder for five classes, then you might need a 3 or 4-inch binder.

Second, think about what you will put inside your binder. I talk about different binder sections and materials further down in this blog post. Things to consider: will you be adding folders? A pencil pouch? Notebooks or loose-leaf paper? The more you add, the larger the binder needs to be.

Other school binder materials you may need

In addition to the actual binder, you will likely need a few other items to keep your school binder organized:

• Tabbed dividers
• Pencil pouch (optional)
• Slim 3-hole punch
• Loose-leaf paper (lined, graphed)
• Notebooks with 3-hole punches
• If you have ADHD, consider these tips for choosing school supplies

How to organize your school binder: Setting up the sections

The front section.

If you are keeping a pencil punch in your binder, it goes in the front. The first section of your binder is also where you clip in your slim 3-hole punch. We don’t put these in the back, because they create bumpy writing surfaces. The last item to go in the front section is a copy of your schedule. You can use a sheet protector like this one . (Another option is to slip your schedule inside the plastic pocket on the outside cover of your binder if it comes with one.) 

The middle section

If you’re using your school binder for multiple classes, you need a section for each class. Use tabbed dividers to separate these sections. Label the tabs with your class names.

For each class section, you will need a folder and paper. Unless you plan to hole-punch all your papers (really?), use the folder for handouts and worksheets. For paper, you can use loose-leaf or a 3-hole-punched single-subject notebook. Up to you.

• The first item to add in each section, right up front, is frequently used reference materials. This would include a periodic table for chemistry class, a formula reference sheet for math, etc. Slip these in sheet covers, or hole punch them. 
• Next, add your syllabus if you have one. If it’s only available online, print it out.
• Next, add your loose-leaf paper or notebook. If using loose-leaf paper, start with 20 sheets or so. You can always add more.
• Lastly, add your class-specific folder.

Here is an outlined recap of the items that go in each class section. I list them in the order I suggest you add them to your binder.

• Tabbed divider with the class name written on the tab
• Reference materials stored in a sheet protector
• Loose-leaf paper or notebook

The last section

The last section of your school binder, behind each of your divided class sections, is a separate section for papers that aren’t for any specific class. This would include permission slips, forms for extracurriculars, password lists, etc. Use another labeled tabbed divider for this section. You may also want to add a folder so that you don’t have to hole-punch everything you add here.

Tips to keep your school binder organized

Knowing how to organize your school binder and set it up in a friction-free way is the first step. Follow the tips above to create a binder that’s easy to use and add to. The second step is to keep your binder organized throughout the school year. 

To keep your papers and materials organized, be sure to go through each class section regularly (weekly or monthly) to:

• throw away old papers
• move out-of-place materials to the correct spot
• remove unit notes and papers that you no longer need (clip them together and take them out of your binder until you need them for a final)
• empty the front pocket of whatever papers you crammed in there
• add new loose leaf paper to empty sections when necessary

Other tips for keeping your binder organized:

• If your teacher gave you any materials digitally and you’d prefer them on paper, print them out and store them in your binder.
• You can use the inside front-cover pocket to store homework that needs to be submitted the next day. But, don’t leave worksheets in this pocket for more than a day or two.
• If your school binder falls apart or breaks during the year, get a new one.

How to organize a school binder if you have ADHD

Students with ADHD and executive dysfunction often need more support to get and stay organized. Managing school materials, keeping papers neat, remembering to turn in paper-based homework, and storing class worksheets/notes in the right sections are all challenges for people with ADHD.

In addition to the tips above – which are also written with ADHD in mind – you might consider the following tips for organizing a binder for school:

• Avoid zippered binders entirely.
• Choose an open binder (no clasp) or one with easy-open velcro.
• Use one large binder for all classes.
• Add a special section in the front for homework. This can be the first section in the binder before the class-specific sections. Add a folder to this section.
• Use a Sunday Routine to go through the binder and organize papers, tidy the sections, throw away junk papers, and check for homework that hasn’t been turned in.
• Use color-coded tab dividers. Match your folder color to the tab color for each class. (Blue tab for English; blue folder for English.)
• Choose the right lined paper for your handwriting. You may need wide-ruled lines if your handwriting is large.
• Use graph paper for all math work.
• Store your assignment notebook inside the binder, near the very front. You can purchase an assignment notebook with 3 holes.

Additional Resources

• 100 of my best organization tips for college students
• All my organization resources
• All my ADHD resources
• My ULTIMATE resource for building executive functions

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School Papers: What to Keep, What to Toss

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School papers can be overwhelming. Recently, I shared how to make a memory box for your keeping papers and memorabilia, but making the box is the simple part, deciding what to put inside the memory box and what to let go of can be trickier.

**Disclosure: This post contains links. Some are affiliate, some are not. If you make a purchase through them, I may earn a small commission. I link these companies and their products because of their quality and not because of the commission I may or may not receive.

So Many Kids Papers

There are so many papers that come home from school, so many drawings by little ones, so many things that are tempting to keep. For kids’ papers and projects , it’s hard to know what’s important and what’s not. If you ask your kids, they’ll likely tell you it’s ALL important. Spoiler alert, it’s not.

As someone whose mother recently handed me overflowing boxes of school papers and artwork from my childhood, I can tell you it’s better to be picky when hanging onto things. They likely won’t be appreciated or enjoyed as much as you think they might.

Ask yourself, is this item worth saving for 20 years? Will my child get joy from seeing this again?

Create Criteria for Keeping Kids Papers

I’ve found it helpful to create criteria for what school papers to keep in the memory box and what to let go of. I stick to that criteria as closely as possible.

If you’ve made a memory box for your children, you’ve already got one limit—you’re restricted by the size of the bin you’ve selected. Don’t grab another bin if you run out of room. 18” of papers is PLENTY to save for your child (If you’re looking for a box suggestion, I like these ).

What School Papers to Keep and What to Toss

My children are 10, 8, and 5. The kinds of papers they bring home have changed over the years, and I’ve had to shift my criteria with it. Here are the guidelines I use:

Preschool Years

Kids’ papers i save:.

• Handprint/footprint artwork
• Paintings/drawings that show some skill
• Handwriting/sentences that share this station in life
• Quality photographs from the teacher
• Evaluation forms/reports from teachers

Kids’ Papers I don’t save:

• Coloring pages
• Cut/glue worksheets
• Bulky items
• Anything with glitter
• Notes from friends

Elementary Years

• Quality writing assignments
• Artwork that shows creativity/skill
• 10ish % of tests, 1-2 per subject per school year
• Certificates or Awards
• Report Cards
• Complimentary notes from the teacher/administrators

• 90% of tests
• Notes from the school nurse
• School correspondence
• Old workbooks

Side note: Save IEP’s and 504s, but not in a memory box. If your child has special learning needs, you’ll want a separate folder to keep track of all progress and meetings.

Act on School Papers Immediately

Once you have your criteria or guidelines set, enact them right away. If something comes out of a folder and isn’t keep-worthy, recycle it ASAP. Don’t let it sit on your counter in a pile for a week and a half. When you have a few extra minutes, go back through the items you’ve already saved and edit them using your new set of rules.

The Goal of the Memory Box

My goal for the memory boxes is to capture who my children are for that snippet in time. If I save too much, none of it will be meaningful because there will just be too much. Saving just a few quality items will make it easier to look back and have specific memories of that time in our lives.

While I don’t quite know what my criteria will be when my children in are in high school, I expect keeping the same mindset, saving things that illustrate who they are at that point in their lives. I’m also assuming a lot of it will be digital by then, maybe I’ll toss a memory stick in a folder instead of papers.  

It’s tricky to know what to save and what to let go of, but saving too much or hanging onto things “just in case” is the path that leads to clutter and chaos. Stay strong, parents, and let things go.

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Homeroom: How Can I Get My Husband’s Ex to Agree on Homework Rules?

If adults don’t set the same expectations, children can get caught in the middle.

Editor’s Note: Every Tuesday, Abby Freireich and Brian Platzer take questions from readers about their kids’ education. Have one? Email them at [email protected].

Dear Abby and Brian,

I am a stepparent to a second grader (let’s call her Ella) who is in full-time virtual school. Her father and I share custody of Ella 50–50 with her mother and her mother’s boyfriend. When Ella is at her mother’s house, she never completes her schoolwork. This pattern has been going on for months.

From what we understand, her mother has given Ella the impression that the schoolwork is optional, and this conflicts with our trying to teach Ella about intrinsic motivation and the importance of following through on things that may be challenging or boring initially. When we have confronted her mother, we hear that she is “too busy” to manage Ella’s schoolwork, although Ella tells us that they often play video games together throughout the day. Other than that, Ella won’t discuss with us the reasons the work isn’t getting done and shuts down emotionally when we ask.

I understand that there may be a difference in value systems between the two households, and that Ella might be a little young for the ideals of personal responsibility we are trying to impress upon her. That said, I’m just tired of Ella having to catch up on the week’s schoolwork when she arrives here, as it puts a damper on her mood (even when we don’t ask about it). We’ve seen this pattern of failure to complete homework assignments since kindergarten, so unfortunately we don’t believe this issue will go away once she returns to in-person learning.

What should we do?

Anonymous North Carolina

Dear Anonymous,

So many parents whose children are in shared custody experience the frustration and powerlessness you expressed. And children like Ella are caught in the middle, trying to negotiate between inconsistent sets of standards. In finding a solution, you’ll need to do what you can to show her that the adults in her life are working together for her sake.

Reaching common ground with Ella’s mother may be difficult, but we recommend giving it another shot. While your instinct to be upset about Ella’s playing video games during the day is understandable, the situation doesn’t necessarily mean that Ella’s mother is indifferent to Ella’s homework. She might be using this time to connect with Ella between study sessions, for example. Regardless, try not to ask Ella about why her work isn’t getting done at her mom’s, as doing so may inadvertently cause her to feel that she has to pick sides.

Instead, do your best to give Ella’s mother the benefit of the doubt and—as challenging as it may be—try to start another conversation with her for Ella’s sake. You mention in your letter that when you have “confronted” Ella’s mother, she’s said she is too busy to help Ella manage her workload. Rather than approaching Ella’s mother confrontationally, start off by acknowledging that all four of you likely have a lot on your plate and that you all have Ella’s best interests at heart. Beginning the conversation this way—expressing empathy and emphasizing shared goals—will give you a better chance to brainstorm simple systems to put in place in both houses. Try to communicate your observations rather than judgments: Ella has been upset when she has to tackle a lot of schoolwork at once, and you’d love to collaborate on a system to help her feel less overwhelmed.

If you’re not able to agree on what’s expected of Ella, talking with her teacher might help. She can make the expectations for schoolwork absolutely clear without arbitrating among family members. Perhaps you or Ella’s father could reach out to her teacher, explain the situation, and ask that she send a general email to the class with reminders about homework requirements. This message will give both households a shared understanding of what Ella’s schoolwork entails.

If Ella’s mother remains dismissive, you could ask the teacher to pass along recommendations to the four of you for how best to support Ella academically. For example, her teacher might suggest a virtual calendar for Ella to track daily and long-term assignments at both your house and her mother’s. Suggestions from the teacher will be less charged than your own, and Ella’s mother will likely be more amenable to hearing them.

If you still find having an open conversation with Ella’s mother too difficult, consider consulting a therapist. Working with a third party trained in these types of discussions might be the best way to protect Ella from tension between households while you work together to find a solution. This is the most important message you can impart to Ella: that despite different value systems and different households, her parents are working together because their love for her is ultimately both what unites them and, most important, what will sustain her.

B y submitting a letter, you are agreeing to let The Atlantic use it—in part or in full—and we may edit it for length and/or clarity.

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Four ways to separate your education and personal life in an online environment

• Author By Blake Sedbrook
• July 14, 2020

The switch to online learning has brought new challenges to all of us. As a student myself, I know firsthand how tough it can be to stay organized in this new setting. I’ve brought together some of the tips that I have found most helpful when working in an online environment, and I hope they can help you too.

1. When going to school online, use a planner

Online classes can be tough. Just like in-person classes, the work can pile up if you’re not careful. One of the best ways to deal with this is to use a planner. Whether it’s an online planner or old-fashioned pen and paper, a planner can help you stay organized and on top of your assignments.

Now you may be wondering: How does this help me separate my personal and educational life? The best thing about a planner is that it allows you to figure out how much time you need to spend on your education. Say, for example, you have three assignments to do. When using a planner, you can allocate specific time slots to each assignment, so you know exactly how much time you have to spend on your schoolwork—and how much time you have to yourself. Then, you can use your remaining time to truly relax and recharge, knowing that you aren’t forgetting to do anything because you have it all written out in your planner.

2. Set up a separate work space

This may seem obvious, but one of the most important things you can do to separate your educational and personal life in an online environment is to actually physically separate your educational and personal spaces.

Now, not everyone will have an extra room that they can set aside for this, but even if you just designate one section of your room to online learning, it can make a huge impact. This helps make you feel the difference between online learning time and personal time. It works the same way as if you were to walk home from the campus library. By changing these spaces, it subconsciously changes the mindset that you are in. You associate the library with schoolwork, and your home with personal time, which makes it easier for you to separate the two. While this may be harder to do in quarantine, it is still possible.

The first thing you want to do is move all of your school supplies to your designated school space. This means your laptop, backpack, notebooks, pencils—everything. Once you do that, you should set it up in a way that is comfortable for you. Try to keep everything organized and tidy. Next up, you want to eliminate any distractions you might have in that space. This is all about making your school space as separate from the rest of your home as possible. This slight change in environment can lead to more focus and a clear mind while both working and relaxing.

3. Eliminate your distractions

Before you figure out when exactly you want to take your breaks, it is important to first eliminate all of your distractions. The reason for this is because you want to stay on task as much as possible when you aren’t taking a break. That way, when you finally decide to take a break, you won’t have to worry about not finishing all of your work, which leads to more personal time. You can watch some TV, take your pet for a walk, eat a snack—really, just do whatever you think could help clear your mind and get you ready for your next assignment/class/lecture/etc.

4. Don’t forget to take a break from the screen!

Who doesn’t love a good study break? In today’s hyper-connected environment, it is especially important to put away our laptops and focus on ourselves. This is even more crucial in an online class when learning at home. If we forget to take regular breaks, especially from social media, it sometimes becomes hard to concentrate and impossible to separate our school life from our non-school life.

You got this!

Whatever online classes throw at you, just remember that these three tips can help you keep your educational and personal life separate. It’s all about keeping a clear head and staying on task, while remembering that breaks and personal time are important. Take it one day at a time. Before you know it, you’ll have aced your online classes while still keeping a clear head.

Blake Sedbrook is an undergraduate intern in the Office of Marketing & Recruitment at Mennonite College of Nursing. He studies media at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

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Choose Your Test

Sat / act prep online guides and tips, the 5 best homework help websites (free and paid).

Other High School , General Education

Listen: we know homework isn’t fun, but it is a good way to reinforce the ideas and concepts you’ve learned in class. But what if you’re really struggling with your homework assignments?

If you’ve looked online for a little extra help with your take-home assignments, you’ve probably stumbled across websites claiming to provide the homework help and answers students need to succeed . But can homework help sites really make a difference? And if so, which are the best homework help websites you can use? 

Below, we answer these questions and more about homework help websites–free and paid. We’ll go over: 

• The basics of homework help websites
• The cost of homework help websites 
• The five best homework websites out there 
• The pros and cons of using these websites for homework help 
• The line between “learning” and “cheating” when using online homework help 
• Tips for getting the most out of a homework help website

So let’s get started! 

The Basics About Homework Help Websites–Free and Paid

Homework help websites are designed to help you complete your homework assignments, plain and simple. 

What Makes a Homework Help Site Worth Using

Most of the best sites allow users to ask questions and then provide an answer (or multiple possible answers) and explanation in seconds. In some instances, you can even send a photo of a particular assignment or problem instead of typing the whole thing out! 

Homework help sites also offer more than just help answering homework questions. Common services provided are Q&A with experts, educational videos, lectures, practice tests and quizzes, learning modules, math solving tools, and proofreading help. Homework help sites can also provide textbook solutions (i.e. answers to problems in tons of different textbooks your school might be using), one-on-one tutoring, and peer-to-peer platforms that allow you to discuss subjects you’re learning about with your fellow students. 

And best of all, nearly all of them offer their services 24/7, including tutoring! 

What You Should Should Look Out For

When it comes to homework help, there are lots–and we mean lots –of scam sites out there willing to prey on desperate students. Before you sign up for any service, make sure you read reviews to ensure you’re working with a legitimate company. 

A word to the wise: the more a company advertises help that veers into the territory of cheating, the more likely it is to be a scam. The best homework help websites are going to help you learn the concepts you’ll need to successfully complete your homework on your own. (We’ll go over the difference between “homework help” and “cheating” a little later!) 

You don't need a golden piggy bank to use homework help websites. Some provide low or no cost help for students like you!

How Expensive Are the Best Homework Help Websites?

First of all, just because a homework help site costs money doesn’t mean it’s a good service. Likewise, just because a homework help website is free doesn’t mean the help isn’t high quality. To find the best websites, you have to take a close look at the quality and types of information they provide! 

When it comes to paid homework help services, the prices vary pretty widely depending on the amount of services you want to subscribe to. Subscriptions can cost anywhere from $2 to $150 dollars per month, with the most expensive services offering several hours of one-on-one tutoring with a subject expert per month.

The 5 Best Homework Help Websites 

So, what is the best homework help website you can use? The answer is that it depends on what you need help with. 

The best homework help websites are the ones that are reliable and help you learn the material. They don’t just provide answers to homework questions–they actually help you learn the material. 

That’s why we’ve broken down our favorite websites into categories based on who they’re best for . For instance, the best website for people struggling with math might not work for someone who needs a little extra help with science, and vice versa. 

Keep reading to find the best homework help website for you! 

Best Free Homework Help Site: Khan Academy

• Price: Free!
• Best for: Practicing tough material 

Not only is Khan Academy free, but it’s full of information and can be personalized to suit your needs. When you set up your account , you choose which courses you need to study, and Khan Academy sets up a personal dashboard of instructional videos, practice exercises, and quizzes –with both correct and incorrect answer explanations–so you can learn at your own pace. 

As an added bonus, it covers more course topics than many other homework help sites, including several AP classes.

Runner Up: Brainly.com offers a free service that allows you to type in questions and get answers and explanations from experts. The downside is that you’re limited to two answers per question and have to watch ads. 

Best Paid Homework Help Site: Chegg

• Price: $14.95 to $19.95 per month
• Best for: 24/7 homework assistance  

This service has three main parts . The first is Chegg Study, which includes textbook solutions, Q&A with subject experts, flashcards, video explanations, a math solver, and writing help. The resources are thorough, and reviewers state that Chegg answers homework questions quickly and accurately no matter when you submit them.  

Chegg also offers textbook rentals for students who need access to textbooks outside of their classroom. Finally, Chegg offers Internship and Career Advice for students who are preparing to graduate and may need a little extra help with the transition out of high school. 

Another great feature Chegg provides is a selection of free articles geared towards helping with general life skills, like coping with stress and saving money. Chegg’s learning modules are comprehensive, and they feature solutions to the problems in tons of different textbooks in a wide variety of subjects. 

Runner Up: Bartleby offers basically the same services as Chegg for $14.99 per month. The reason it didn’t rank as the best is based on customer reviews that say user questions aren’t answered quite as quickly on this site as on Chegg. Otherwise, this is also a solid choice!

Best Site for Math Homework Help: Photomath

• Price: Free (or $59.99 per year for premium services) 
• Best for: Explaining solutions to math problems

This site allows you to t ake a picture of a math problem, and instantly pulls up a step-by-step solution, as well as a detailed explanation of the concept. Photomath also includes animated videos that break down mathematical concepts to help you better understand and remember them. 

The basic service is free, but for an additional fee you can get extra study tools and learn additional strategies for solving common math problems.

Runner Up: KhanAcademy offers in-depth tutorials that cover complex math topics for free, but you won’t get the same tailored help (and answers!) that Photomath offers. 

Best Site for English Homework Help: Princeton Review Academic Tutoring

• Price: $40 to $153 per month, depending on how many hours of tutoring you want 
• Best for: Comprehensive and personalized reading and writing help 

While sites like Grammarly and Sparknotes help you by either proofreading what you write via an algorithm or providing book summaries, Princeton Review’s tutors provide in-depth help with vocabulary, literature, essay writing and development, proofreading, and reading comprehension. And unlike other services, you’ll have the chance to work with a real person to get help. 

The best part is that you can get on-demand English (and ESL) tutoring from experts 24/7. That means you can get help whenever you need it, even if you’re pulling an all-nighter! 

This is by far the most expensive homework site on this list, so you’ll need to really think about what you need out of a homework help website before you commit. One added benefit is that the subscription covers over 80 other subjects, including AP classes, which can make it a good value if you need lots of help!  

Best Site for STEM Homework Help: Studypool

• Best for: Science homework help
• Price: Varies; you’ll pay for each question you submit

When it comes to science homework help, there aren’t a ton of great resources out there. The best of the bunch is Studypool, and while it has great reviews, there are some downsides as well. 

Let’s start with the good stuff. Studypool offers an interesting twist on the homework help formula. After you create a free account, you can submit your homework help questions, and tutors will submit bids to answer your questions. You’ll be able to select the tutor–and price point–that works for you, then you’ll pay to have your homework question answered. You can also pay a small fee to access notes, lectures, and other documents that top tutors have uploaded. 

The downside to Studypool is that the pricing is not transparent . There’s no way to plan for how much your homework help will cost, especially if you have lots of questions! Additionally, it’s not clear how tutors are selected, so you’ll need to be cautious when you choose who you’d like to answer your homework questions.  

What Are the Pros and Cons of Using Homework Help Sites?

Homework help websites can be a great resource if you’re struggling in a subject, or even if you just want to make sure that you’re really learning and understanding topics and ideas that you’re interested in. But, there are some possible drawbacks if you don’t use these sites responsibly. 

We’ll go over the good–and the not-so-good–aspects of getting online homework help below. 

3 Pros of Using Homework Help Websites 

First, let’s take a look at the benefits. 

#1: Better Grades Beyond Homework

This is a big one! Getting outside help with your studies can improve your understanding of concepts that you’re learning, which translates into better grades when you take tests or write essays. 

Remember: homework is designed to help reinforce the concepts you learned in class. If you just get easy answers without learning the material behind the problems, you may not have the tools you need to be successful on your class exams…or even standardized tests you’ll need to take for college. 

#2: Convenience

One of the main reasons that online homework help is appealing is because it’s flexible and convenient. You don’t have to go to a specific tutoring center while they’re open or stay after school to speak with your teacher. Instead, you can access helpful resources wherever you can access the internet, whenever you need them.

This is especially true if you tend to study at off hours because of your extracurriculars, work schedule, or family obligations. Sites that offer 24/7 tutoring can give you the extra help you need if you can’t access the free resources that are available at your school. 

#3: Variety

Not everyone learns the same way. Maybe you’re more of a visual learner, but your teacher mostly does lectures. Or maybe you learn best by listening and taking notes, but you’re expected to learn something just from reading the textbook . 

One of the best things about online homework help is that it comes in a variety of forms. The best homework help sites offer resources for all types of learners, including videos, practice activities, and even one-on-one discussions with real-life experts. 

This variety can also be a good thing if you just don’t really resonate with the way a concept is being explained (looking at you, math textbooks!).

Not so fast. There are cons to homework help websites, too. Get to know them below!

3 Cons of Using Homework Help Websites 

Now, let’s take a look at the drawbacks of online homework help. 

#1: Unreliable Info

This can be a real problem. In addition to all the really good homework help sites, there are a whole lot of disreputable or unreliable sites out there. The fact of the matter is that some homework help sites don’t necessarily hire people who are experts in the subjects they’re talking about. In those cases, you may not be getting the accurate, up-to-date, and thorough information you need.

Additionally, even the great sites may not be able to answer all of your homework questions. This is especially true if the site uses an algorithm or chatbot to help students…or if you’re enrolled in an advanced or college-level course. In these cases, working with your teacher or school-provided tutors are probably your best option. 

#2: No Clarification

This depends on the service you use, of course. But the majority of them provide free or low-cost help through pre-recorded videos. Watching videos or reading info online can definitely help you with your homework… but you can’t ask questions or get immediate feedback if you need it .

#3: Potential For Scamming 

Like we mentioned earlier, there are a lot of homework help websites out there, and lots of them are scams. The review comments we read covered everything from outdated or wrong information, to misleading claims about the help provided, to not allowing people to cancel their service after signing up. 

No matter which site you choose to use, make sure you research and read reviews before you sign up–especially if it’s a paid service! 

When Does “Help” Become “Cheating”?

Admittedly, whether using homework help websites constitutes cheating is a bit of a grey area. For instance, is it “help” when a friend reads your essay for history class and corrects your grammar, or is it “cheating”? The truth is, not everyone agrees on when “help” crosses the line into “cheating .” When in doubt, it can be a good idea to check with your teacher to see what they think about a particular type of help you want to get. 

That said, a general rule of thumb to keep in mind is to make sure that the assignment you turn in for credit is authentically yours . It needs to demonstrate your own thoughts and your own current abilities. Remember: the point of every homework assignment is to 1) help you learn something, and 2) show what you’ve learned. 

So if a service answers questions or writes essays for you, there’s a good chance using it constitutes cheating. 

Here’s an example that might help clarify the difference for you. Brainstorming essay ideas with others or looking online for inspiration is “help” as long as you write the essay yourself. Having someone read it and give you feedback about what you need to change is also help, provided you’re the one that makes the changes later. 

But copying all or part of an essay you find online or having someone write (or rewrite) the whole thing for you would be “cheating.” The same is true for other subjects. Ultimately, if you’re not generating your own work or your own answers, it’s probably cheating.

5 Tips for Finding the Best Homework Help Websites for You

Now that you know some of our favorite homework help websites, free and paid, you can start doing some additional research on your own to decide which services might work best for you! Here are some top tips for choosing a homework help website. 

Tip 1: Decide How You Learn Best 

Before you decide which site or sites you’re going to use for homework help, y ou should figure out what kind of learning style works for you the most. Are you a visual learner? Then choose a site that uses lots of videos to help explain concepts. If you know you learn best by actually doing tasks, choose a site that provides lots of practice exercises.

Tip 2: Determine Which Subjects You Need Help With

Just because a homework help site is good overall doesn’t mean that it’s equally good for every subject. If you only need help in math, choose a site that specializes in that area. But if history is where you’re struggling, a site that specializes in math won’t be much help. So make sure to choose a site that you know provides high-quality help in the areas you need it most. 

Tip 3: Decide How Much One-On-One Help You Need 

This is really about cost-effectiveness. If you learn well on your own by reading and watching videos, a free site like Khan Academy is a good choice. But if you need actual tutoring, or to be able to ask questions and get personalized answers from experts, a paid site that provides that kind of service may be a better option.

Tip 4: Set a Budget

If you decide you want to go with a paid homework help website, set a budget first . The prices for sites vary wildly, and the cost to use them can add up quick. 

Tip 5: Read the Reviews

Finally, it’s always a good idea to read actual reviews written by the people using these homework sites. You’ll learn the good, the bad, and the ugly of what the users’ experiences have been. This is especially true if you intend to subscribe to a paid service. You’ll want to make sure that users think it’s worth the price overall!

What’s Next?

If you want to get good grades on your homework, it’s a good idea to learn how to tackle it strategically. Our expert tips will help you get the most out of each assignment…and boost your grades in the process.

Doing well on homework assignments is just one part of getting good grades. We’ll teach you everything you need to know about getting great grades in high school in this article.

Of course, test grades can make or break your GPA, too. Here are 17 expert tips that’ll help you get the most out of your study prep before you take an exam.

Ashley Sufflé Robinson has a Ph.D. in 19th Century English Literature. As a content writer for PrepScholar, Ashley is passionate about giving college-bound students the in-depth information they need to get into the school of their dreams.

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Ideas for Organizing Kids' Schoolwork Papers

It doesn’t take long once the new school year starts for parents to feel overwhelmed by the amount of paperwork that kids bring home from school. Try these clever ideas for sorting and organizing so that sanity reigns and missing assignments are no more.

Related To:

Use a system of revolving folders and clipboards to stay on top of all of your family’s school paperwork throughout the year. If you keep it up, by the time summer rolls around, you'll have only the things you want to keep and save.

Filing Kid's Schoolwork in Plastic Boxes

Photo by: Tomas Espinoza Photography

Tomas Espinoza Photography

What You'll Need:

• file box with space for hanging files
• file tabs for labeling
• plain manila and colored folders
• photos and decorative items to personalize the boxes
• (3) clipboards with labels
• wall file holder with labeled tabs

We're sorry, there seems to be an issue playing this video. Please refresh the page or try again in a moment. If you continue to have issues, please contact us here .

Start by creating the system you’ll use on a daily basis. We like a three clipboard system that separates ‘work to do’, ‘work in progress’ and ‘work complete’. Not only does this help with organizing papers, but it also helps organize your student and gives parents a good way to check up on homework before it is turned in. Hang these in a convenient location where homework is most often done so that organizing daily papers becomes an easy part of the routine.

Kids Homework Desk With Clipboards

Photo By: Tomas Espinoza Photography

Clipboards Hung by Child's Homework Desk

Week to week.

Create an easy system to move those daily papers to a weekly (or monthly) space so they can be sorted and filed accordingly. Label file folders as ‘art to save’, ‘work to save’ and ‘miscellaneous’ for any catch-all items you may want to keep, such as special notes or awards.

File Folders to Sort Kids Homework

Weekly set up.

Hang the weekly file folders in a central location where family members can easily access the system. You don’t need much space; here we used the back of a door to hang the three folders vertically. To make the folder holders, we used leather straps , craft rings and adhesive hooks. To keep it easy, a different color of strap was used for each child.

Kid Sorting Paper in Hanging File Folders

File folders hanging on the back of a door, make the cut.

At the end of every week, make it a point to have your kids edit their daily paperwork into the weekly folders. Encourage them to decide if something is worth keeping. Recycle or throw away anything that didn't make the grade.

Throwing Away Unwanted Paper

Annual review.

At the end of the school year, pare down all of that paperwork to only the most special and memorable pieces that you know you’ll want to keep. Start with a clear, lidded plastic file box with an interior lip for hanging file folders. Personalize the outside of the box for each child in your family. We added decorative washi tape to style it up.

Labeling Kids File Box for Schoolwork Papers

Inside the file box, create a folder for each grade level. We suggest a colored folder for every academic year to make it easy to see and separate. Use the front of the grade level folders to display class photos, sports pictures and other mementos that represent that school year.

Attaching Child's Photo on a File Filled With Schoolwork

Only the essentials.

Inside every school-year folder is where the real magic happens, with corresponding folders for art and schoolwork, plus dedicated spaces for report cards and awards. All those weekly papers that you have been editing along the way can now be neatly filed into the school year box, leaving only the most prized and precious memories.

File Folders of Child's Schoolwork

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TWO WRITING TEACHERS

A meeting place for a world of reflective writers.

Ways to Organize Writer’s Notebooks: Notebook as a Writer’s Tool

Is there one right way to keep a writer’s notebo ok?

There is no one “correct” way to organize writer’s notebooks. So much depends upon the purpose the notebooks serve in your classroom and how students will utilize them during writing time. My goal with this post is to share different possibilities for organizing writer’s notebooks and present you with various options. To section or not to section will depend on how you see writer’s notebooks and the role they play in your workshop.

No sections

In the past, my third graders’ writer’s notebooks were not organized into sections. I never used to section my own writer’s notebook either. I used to see it as a wide open space for any thoughts, ideas, drafts, lists, sketches, notes, etc. I have a collection of notebooks from different years of teaching that are just like this, and it is still a pleasure to reread them, going from a list, to a response to a reading, to a poem. I absolutely understand why a teacher might choose to invite students to keep notebooks in this way.

While I love the freedom that comes with a section-less notebook, I began to feel my writer’s notebooks needed to be more of a resource for student writers as well as a place to hold their unique ideas and their writing. Looking for new ideas, I discovered Angela Stockman’s Pace Yourself , an “online professional development playground” for teachers to explore different ideas around the teaching of writing. I took part in the course entitled, “Make Writing: Notebooks.” In this course, Angela describes how she sections the writer’s notebook so that it plays a meaningful role in every part of the writer’s workshop. She recommends creating 4 sections: Ideas (lists, maps, and other ways to generate ideas), Notes (notes from minilessons and conferences), Tinkering (a place to play with language and revision), and Reflection (a place to reflect on how the writing is going).

I modified those ideas for my students this year. My third graders have three sections: Ideas, Lessons, and Writing.

• The first section is where students have heart maps, lists, and charts to inspire their writing.

• The sec ond section is where they glue in anchor charts and notes from the lessons I teach them.

• The final section is where they draft and play with language, trying out different leads or lifting a line.  

The way I see the writer’s notebook is both treasure chest and workbench. It’s a place to store important ideas, memories, memorable language and moments. It’s also a place to learn how to write better and to have resources and references close at hand.

Alternative ways to section

I asked my TWT colleagues about how they’ve chosen to organize writer’s notebooks. As always, they are full of great ideas! Here are some alternative ways you might section your notebooks:

• 2 sections: The front of the notebook is a place for students to list, draft, and write anything they choose. Students can flip over the notebook and use the other side as an exploratory notebook where they keep notes and ideas that could be used for informational or persuasive writing.
• 2 sections: Put a post-it tab in the middle of the notebook. The first half of the notebook is for writing exercises, lessons, and plans. The second half is for “sacred writing” and is whatever the students wish to write about.
• ¼ of the notebook: The last ¼ of the notebook can be used for student goals and notes from conferring. The first part of the notebook would be for whatever the student wishes to write.
• Fold over pages: Students can fold a page down at the end of a unit of study to separate the writing from different units.

Giving students choices 

On Sunday, Betsy’s post “Whose Notebook is it Anyway?” really made me stop and think about ownership of notebooks. Kelsey had already planted the seed in my mind that students could choose to create sections (or not) in their notebooks. Betsy’s post made me think more about that idea. I always have student personalize and decorate their notebooks before we even start writing in them, but Betsy’s post made me rethink this. What if I started the year sharing my own notebooks and talked with students about the different possibilities for sections? I could require them to keep one place in their notebooks where they will save the information I share with them (a lesson section), but otherwise they could choose how they want their notebook to go. Seeing a list of possible ideas for sections and how other writers keep their notebook could inspire student writers to have more say in how their notebook works. As for the decorating of the notebook, I could also allow this to be a choice for students instead of making it an activity we all do at the same time. Maybe some students want to gradually add items to their notebook cover. Maybe other students prefer a blank outside. I could provide more choices to allow for more engagement and ownership of the notebook.

My Writer’s Notebook

I believe that teachers who teach writing should write themselves. Recently, I’ve been having a difficult time carving out time to write. I’m not making the time to write my observations, wonderings, ideas, or to play with language. So many thoughts about my children and my students come to me and then fly right by as I don’t stop to write them down. I sometimes feel stuck and blocked when it’s time to write a personal or professional blog post. Just like I tell my students, the way to get better at writing is by writing! To keep growing as a writer, I need to write more often.

I created sections for my new writer’s notebook. The sections I created are:

• Professional questions, ideas, noticings: This will be for any thoughts that come to mind about teaching in general as well as specific observations, questions, and ideas related to my students.
• Alex and Megan: This section is for the writing I will do about my two children.
• Me: This section is for ideas that aren’t about teaching or my children. Being a teacher and mom are dominant themes in my life, but I am learning that there is a “me” beyond teacher and mom and this is her section!
• Words and phrases I love: The final section is a place to capture beautiful language or interesting words and phrases.

I’m hoping that my new notebook will give me a place to both play with words and make writing a more consistent practice.

How do you see writer’s notebooks?

What is your philosophy when it comes to writer’s notebooks? Are they a place to dream and explore? A place to collect tools and strategies for improved writing? Both? Neither? What role does a writer’s notebook play in your own life? Your student’s lives? Please share your thoughts and ideas about organizing writer’s notebooks in the comments.

Links to explore:

Notebooks: Starting with What Matters Most

Breathing Life Back Into Notebooks: Discovering the Writer’s Life

Making Writer’s Notebooks Personal

Sharing Our Notebooks

GIVEAWAY INFORMATION:

• This giveaway is for a free 20-minute classroom Skype session with author Amy Ludwig VanDerwater whose popular blog Sharing Our Notebooks is an excellent resource for notebookers of all ages and interests.
• For a chance to win this Skype session with Amy, please leave a comment about this or any blog post in this blog series by Sunday, November 11th at 6:00 p.m. EST. Betsy Hubbard will use a random number generator to pick the winner’s commenter number. His/her name will be announced in the ICYMI blog post for this series on Monday, November 12th.
• Please leave a valid e-mail address when you post your comment so Betsy can link you up with Amy if you win.
• If you are the winner of the Skype session, Betsy will email you with the subject line of TWO WRITING TEACHERS – AMY LV. Please respond to her e-mail with your mailing address within five days of receipt. A new winner will be chosen if a response isn’t received within five days of the giveaway announcement.

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Published by Kathleen Neagle Sokolowski

View all posts by Kathleen Neagle Sokolowski

3 thoughts on “ Ways to Organize Writer’s Notebooks: Notebook as a Writer’s Tool ”

This post was jam-packed with so many ideas. The teachers in my school have book-marked this whole blog series. When I was a classroom teacher, my students kept a binder for resources and a notebook for their writing. Although I liked how Nancie Atwell’s students managed their noteooks, I didn’t have luck with that. Thanks for sharing your ideas and thinking.

Like Liked by 1 person

Organizing notebooks is a question I have yearly!! Thanks for some new ideas! I’ve resisted having sections but know that the notebooks I’ve already filled need to have some sort of organization or than the post-its that litter each one!

I feel like I am constantly working and reworking how I use notebooks. Your post made me feel better about this because this is what we do as teachers and how we respond to our students. I don’t have clear sections, but I do have my students save charts about writing from the back of the notebook for easier access. We also have a tab for a grammar page. I find this useful when a student needs a quick lesson, they can store it on this page for future reference. Thanks for this series. I am thinking more about our notebooks and what is working and what may need to change next year.

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How To Keep Work Separate When You Work From Home

The rise in remote work opportunities has increased the need for many people to create a viable home office space. If a good portion of your job happens in your house, it’s challenging to define the line between your personal and work lives. It’s tough to separate work from play when you work from home, especially if you live with others, but it’s possible.

Use a spare room as a home office, or set up a clearly defined workspace with a standing screen or curtains. Create and stick to a work schedule, and separate personal and work tasks. Change clothes when you start your work day, use different accounts and devices for your job and personal lives, and set clear boundaries with colleagues.

Clearly defining the break between work and personal life when you work from home is a physical and mental challenge. It’s important to practice habits that separate work from play, in your house and your head.

How To Separate Work From Personal Life When You Work From Home

How you choose to separate your work life from your personal life depends on several factors. You must consider the size of your home, the layout, the number of rooms, and how many people live with you. Therefore, as you read through these suggestions on how to keep work separate, choose the ones that make the most sense for your specific living situation.

However, many of these tips apply no matter if you live in a studio apartment or a five-bedroom home. Likewise, you’ll find many of these ideas helpful whether you live alone, with 10 roommates, five dogs, or three toddlers.

1. Utilize A Spare Room As A Dedicated Home Office

One of the most common ways to separate your work life when you’re at home is to convert a spare room into a home office. Whether it’s an extra living room , a spare bedroom, or an unused dining room, a dedicated room provides the ultimate privacy. It also enables you to completely shut the door, literally, on work when it’s time to call it a day.

For extra separation, make the room off-limits to anything that isn’t work-related. Furthermore, if it isn’t time for you to go to work, try to avoid entering the room as much as possible. The more you treat this space as only your office, the easier it will be to maintain a mental divide.

2. Set A Schedule For Work And Stick To It

If you went to an office or workplace every day, you'd have set hours that you were at work. But when you work from home, your hours on the job become muddy.

It becomes all too tempting to squeeze in an extra thirty minutes at the end of the day. Likewise, it’s easier to become distracted and mix a few personal chores or tasks into your workday.

Therefore, create a work schedule and stick to it, just as you would need to if you were going somewhere else. Build in your lunch break, and mini-breaks, and define what you will accomplish during each block of time. Having a schedule helps you stay accountable. It’s also helpful if you work from home while others are in the house if they know your work hours.

3. Get Dressed For Work

You wouldn’t go to your place of business in your PJs or sweats, so don’t wear them when you’re at home. Of course, this tip is personal and for some won’t make a difference. Some people are very productive even if they stay in yoga pants all day.

However, if you’re finding it hard to keep the line between work and your personal life separate, your clothes could make a difference. When it’s time to go to work, wear what you would wear if you had to go to an office, shop, or similar workplace. Then, when your workday is over, change into whatever clothes you would wear once you were home for the day.

4. If You Don’t Have A Spare Room, Create Separation With Screens Or Curtains

Not everyone has the luxury of a spare room they can convert into an office. However, it’s critical to give yourself as much physical separation as possible. The separation offers more privacy and also sets boundaries of where work ends and home life begins.

Carve out a corner in the living room, or place a desk in your bedroom . Then, add privacy by positioning a standing screen or hanging curtains from the ceiling. Another excellent divider is to use tall bookcases, with the shelves facing your office.

You might think this isn’t necessary if you don’t share the space with anyone else. However, even if you live alone, these physical dividers can help give you a sense of work being separate from home. Plus, they help block the view of your work from the rest of the space. After all, who wants to see piles of unfinished data sheets or files when they’re lying in bed?

5. Avoid Doing House Chores During Your Work Hours

When you’re working from home, try your best to only do work-related items during your designated schedule. Avoid the temptation to tackle laundry, do dishes, walk the dog, or do any other chores.

This tip is another one that depends on your personality, though. Some people find one of the big benefits of working from home is being able to tackle house chores before it gets late. But if you plan to do this, work some blocks into your schedule for a few home-related tasks and only do them during these times.

6. Don’t Bring Work Home With You (Even Though You’re Already There)

Similar to avoiding housework while you’re doing your job from home, don’t keep working when you should be done. In other words, don’t answer work emails in bed, don’t fire up the laptop after dinner to knock out an extra report. Prioritize your time wisely during your work hours, so you can leave work at work.

7. Create Separate Accounts For Work And Personal Life

Maintain separate accounts for your personal and work lives, including things like Google accounts, bank accounts, etc. Not only will this help you maintain a sense of separation, but it also makes things a lot easier to manage.

8. Consider Using Different Devices For Work And Play

If you have the means, use separate devices for work and personal use. For example, get a different phone, laptop, desktop computer, etc. for work use. If you have a dedicated home office space, the devices you use for work should remain in this space.

9. Be Clear With Colleagues About Time Boundaries

When you work from home, your colleagues typically know it. For many of them, they assume you’re reachable 24/7. It’s essential to let people know that you only accept calls or return emails during designated hours, barring an emergency.

The next step is once you let people know these boundaries, you need to stick to them. If you don’t follow through, they won’t take you seriously, and you’ll keep getting late-night phone calls.

And remember, even if you’re working from home, you still get to take a vacation or a sick day when needed. Don’t fall into the trap where even if you’re running 102 fever, you set up shop from your bed and go to work anyway. Things like this only further erase the line you're trying to draw between your personal and work lives.

10. Don’t Neglect Your Health, Family, Or Friends

It’s easy to get off your routine when you work from home. Many remote workers claim to neglect their workout regimen, make poorer food choices, snack more, and form bad sleeping habits. Make sure to take care of yourself, and don’t compromise your health because of your remote work schedule.

All Work And No Play Doesn’t Make Your House A Home

You’ve heard the saying, “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy?” Well, similarly, if all you do when you’re at home is work, your house will feel pretty dull, and it certainly won’t feel like a home.

Clearly defining a boundary between your work and personal life is essential to your overall well-being and your productivity. A dedicated home office is great if you have room to spare, but if not, clearly define a space using a screen, curtains, or bookcases.

Set a schedule for your work day, get dressed, and go to work. Avoid doing personal stuff during these hours (unless you include a “break” for such things). Likewise, don’t continue working when your work day is complete. Practice healthy habits to stay fresh and focused, and be clear about your boundaries with your colleagues and loved ones.

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Stacy Randall is a wife, mother, and freelance writer from NOLA that has always had a love for DIY projects, home organization, and making spaces beautiful. Together with her husband, she has been spending the last several years lovingly renovating her grandparent's former home, making it their own and learning a lot about life along the way.

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